Lin gave so many directions that she'd lost her voice and resorted to tapping notes out on a tablet as rapidly as her fingers could work. But after nearly eighteen hours of work, they were moving Fuse from the pod she'd overclocked and into the new one she'd managed to cobble together that was more powerful and efficient.
Clint and Rebecca had proven invaluable to her in that time, doing things she physically couldn't and throwing their authority around whenever there was resistance. An older woman came and went a few times, looking stressed but never lingered and Rebecca would roll her eyes each time.
"I could go for a steak, a beer, and about three days of sleep." Clint said, flopping down onto a wheelchair with a groan. "Any takers?"
Rebecca shook her head. "I'm heading to the bunk room to shower and pass out."
"I know better than to ask, but Lin? Hungry?"
She shook her head, adjusting a dial and looking through the port. "Fine now." She rasped tiredly.
"We'll have a cot brought in for you." Rebecca said, grabbing Clint's outstretched arm and pulling him up. "If you need anything, you know how the comms work."
She nodded as the agents left the room and after a few more adjustments, sighed and walked over to the vacated wheelchair and curled up on it, keeping her eyes trained on the prototype pod. Fuse had died twice before she could get the regular model to perform the way she wanted it to. But even then, it was pushing the limits of its capability and she'd decided it was faster to just build a new one.
By the time they loaded him into it and got the viscosity of the amniolyphic fluid to a level that would work on his injuries, he was stable, but only just. The recovery pods were her most difficult and complex creations and it had taken her a year to develop every aspect of their functions. The Chairman hadn't been happy with the result, but it was the best she'd been able to do at the time. It was only thanks to that intimacy that she was able to put together the version currently saving Fuse's life.
It was also the first time since she'd been taken from her sterile lab that she felt a sense of normalcy, losing herself to the work. Even the ordering people around had felt strangely natural to her despite having to do all her work alone, prior to her abduction. But now it was quiet save for the hum of the electronics and a sense of anxiety was building inside her. She was alone in a lab again.
Heels clicking on the floor behind her pulled her out of her thoughts and she sat up, turning to the door as the older woman walked in. "You were a little busy for introductions earlier." She said, walking up to the pod and examining it. "I'm Veronica Chase. I was the one who had Kurokawa bring you to us."
Lin felt her stomach drop and her mouth felt dry as the woman turned and looked at her. "Your contributions to the world with inventions like this cannot be overstated. C-Corp was foolish to write you off so easily."
There was an edge to her voice that Lin recognized when the Chairman first understood what she could do. A few days later, she was locked in a lab and given a list of projects to make work. But things were different now. She wasn't alone and there was a world out there that Fuse had promised to show to her.
Licking her lips, she willed her voice cooperate and opened her mouth. "I'm not going-"
"Of course you're not." Veronica said crisply, cutting her off. "For now, you're under our protection. Which means limited movement. I don't think I need to explain the why of that to you right now. But once this situation has cleared itself up, my offer is this; Work for Echelon. You'll be the head of our R&D division. Free to come and go as you please, free to work on whatever projects you want, free to hire and fire whoever you want."
Lin blinked. "I don't understand."
"Basically, I want you to do what you were doing for C-Corp, but for a paycheck." She explained. "You'd be an employee, not a prisoner."
"I could leave?"
"Anytime you want. Sweetheart, you don't even have to take my offer. We need your brain and the things you've given the world, but Echelon isn't going to force you to do anything you don't want to. You happened to become a free agent and we thought we'd claim you for ourselves, but the choice is yours." Veronica said. There was a bluntness in her tone that made Lin think of how Fuse spoke.
She looked past the woman to the pod. "What about Fuse?"
"Technically, he's been an employee of Echelon since Edgeton when he made that deal with Peter." She said, her expression souring.
"Can I have him if I stay?"
Veronica raised an eyebrow. "You mean as an employee? I don't think his talents extend to lab work, dear. We planned on using him for security-"
"Yes. That. But for me?"
The older woman narrowed her eyes and began walking around the lab. "Would that convince you to come into our employ?"
Lin nodded. "Yes."
"I'll consider it. But we need to ask him when he comes to if he'd be alright with that posting." She said, circling back to the wheelchair Lin sat on. "If he agrees to be your personal security, then..."
She shrugged and looked to the door, pointing at a corner as two men carried in a cot and bedding. They set it up efficiently and nodded to both of them before leaving the lab.
"Kurokawa's important to me, Miss Lin. As much as Echelon wanted you, I wanted him." She said. "I think if you were to turn down our offer and choose to make your own way, he'd probably follow after you. I'm not sure I could handle losing him again, so you've got a deal. If he agrees."
With that, she left the lab as well, her heels clicking on the tile floor loudly. Lin sighed in relief and moved over to the cot. It was more comfortable than the one she'd been given at C-Corp, but as she stretched out on it and let herself feel the exhaustion she'd been holding off, the lab felt less oppressive and more welcoming.
~
She was sleeping when she heard the thumping coming from inside the pod. Everything after falling off the cot was a blur, but as the hatch opened and he stepped out, she felt like she could breathe properly for the first time in a week.
She helped him over to a wheelchair and grabbed towels from a cabinet and they worked together to dry him off, not realizing she was crying until halfway through. His large hand rested on her head and she laughed as he awkwardly patted it.
"I could use a shower." He said quietly.
A call button was pressed and less than three minutes later, flanked by two medical staff, she was pushing his wheelchair down the hall toward a bathroom used for patients.
"We'll be waiting out here when you're done. Just give a shout." One of the nurses said as he got up out of the chair.
"Lin." He said, motioning her over and using her shoulder as a crutch until he was in the stall. "How long have I been out?"
"Eight days." She replied as the water started running.
He nodded and rinsed the fluid off him, leaning against the wall. "They been taking care of you?"
"Veronica offered me a job."
"Who's Veronica?"
She tilted her head. "She's in charge, I think? She knew you."
"Everyone knows me, Lin." He groaned, pushing off the wall and reaching for the soap. "Curse of being Kurokawa Fuse."
She watched him lather up, making a note that the number of scars on his body had increased from the last time she'd seen him in a state of undress. He cleaned himself mechanically and efficiently before sitting on the bench and letting the water wash over him.
"So?" He asked after a few seconds. "Did you accept her offer?"
"I said I'd take it if I got to keep you. Security. She said if you agreed, then she'd allow it."
He laughed weakly. "Pretty good deal. I imagine she wanted me for something more bombastic than standing around a lab and looking mean."
"She said you were important to her. Should I have not said that?"
He waved his hand dismissively. "No, it's fine. I'd rather spend time with you than do something else."
She felt her heart speed up and smiled. "Good."
He leaned forward and turned the water off before motioning her over. "Give me a hand?"
With a towel around his waist, they circled back to where the nurses were waiting along with Rebecca, whose face turned red as she scowled. "Do you have any idea how inappropriate this is?"
"Showering?" Fuse asked.
"With a girl in there with you!?" She shrieked.
The teens looked at one another in confusion. Fuse was used to bathing with both men and women and Lin had no idea about propriety, so they were equally lost as nothing seemed amiss to them. "He bathed me. I just helped him walk to and from." Lin said pointedly.
Fuse sat back down in the wheelchair and had a bundle of clothing thrown at him as Rebecca glared furiously the them before looking at the two nurses. "You two should've known better."
"We thought they were together." One of them said flippantly.
"We are." Lin said.
Rebecca looked up at the ceiling and shook her head. "Not like that, Miss Lin. She means in a relationship."
Lin gave her a confused look. "I don't understand."
"Romantic entanglement." Fuse said. "Intimate relationship."
The girl shook her head and shrugged, which Fuse met with a shrug of his own. "I don't see the problem. And it's done. Was there anything else you needed, ma'am? Or did you wish to berate us for breaking some arbitrary societal norm that makes you uncomfortable?"
Rebecca's mouth opened and closed, making him think of a fish gasping before she made an annoyed noise and folded her arms across her chest. "Veronica says that me and Roberts are supposed to take you out for dinner tonight, so hurry and get dressed. Your boots are in Lin's lab."
With that, she turned and started storming away, only making it a few steps before glaring back at them. "And soldiers aren't supposed to use words like that!" She shouted then continued her dramatic exit.
"Shall we?" One of the nurses asked.
Fuse nodded. "We probably should. She seems angry."
"Well, you kind of called her out and embarrassed her." The other nurse added, covering her mouth to hide a smile. "Nobody really does that to the top floor crowd."
"To be fair, I was just repeating something a member of my unit said." He shot back. "I'm not entirely sure what it means."
"Well, you used it correctly, so just stay committed." She replied.
Lin followed along, still lost about why she'd been yelled at.
~
"So this is kinda like a family reunion." Clint said, pulling out a chair for Lin as Fuse did the same for Rebecca.
The latter gave him a withering look. "Do you have to find a positive, yet painfully awkward spin to put on everything?"
"No." He said, pausing briefly before sitting down. "Just on things that make you uncomfortable."
"I don't really remember much from before the Program." Fuse said thoughtfully. "I remember stealing something from someone once. A cookie?"
"It was a biscuit." She snapped. "And there was a plate of them right in front of you."
"Yeah, but I wanted that one." He replied quickly, using an excuse he'd heard in the mess hall.
Clint and Lin laughed while he smirked at her. She scoffed and grabbed the tablet. "Gettin' further away from that second date, Roberts."
Clint stopped laughing instantly and Lin tilted her head. "Date?"
"Long story." He muttered.
She shook her head. "No, I don't understand."
"A date is an activity you do with someone you like." Rebecca explained dully, tapping on the screen and handing the tablet to Fuse.
"Someone you like romantically." Clint clarified, then blanched and looked at Rebecca. "No! I was just-"
"Further and further away." She mumbled, picking up her glass.
Lin still looked confused and turned to Fuse to explain, but he gave his head a slight shake as he read the menu. "No clue."
"Wait, have you never been on a date?" Clint asked. "Really? What is it with your family, Bex?"
Fuse tossed the tablet at him before she could answer. "Lin, I got you the same thing I'm having. I think it's a burger."
She nodded as Clint fumbled with the tablet. Rebecca smirked once Clint finally recovered the tablet and set it gently on the table with a sigh. Then she looked between Fuse and Lin, who seemed to be having a silent conversation.
"How do you two do that?" She asked.
Fuse looked over at her. "Do what?"
"Talk to one another without saying a word."
He glanced at Lin, who shrugged, then Clint, who shook his head, but was interested as well. "I don't think there's an explanation. We just... do it." He said uncertainly.
"You two have only known each other for, what, pushing into two months? And most of that time you were unconscious. Yet you're able to extrapolate meaning from one another based solely on facial expressions and body language." Rebecca said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"I know agents who've been partners since after the Liberation that can't communicate that effectively. That's impressive. Really." Clint said.
Rebecca scoffed. "One of your specialties is micro-expressions."
"Doesn't make it any less impressive."
Lin looked at Fuse, who seemed at a loss and shrugged off their bickering. "Intel operatives."
Clint stopped mid sentence and looked over at Fuse. "What's that?"
"The way Rebecca said 'micro-expressions'. Means she was familiar with the theory, but lacks the practice. Veronica's direct superiors are the people in charge of Echelon, meaning you two are among the top ranking agents since you report directly to her. So if she's lacking practice, it means that you were recruited while she worked through a program. And since you were recruited, you were likely in the military. And micro-expressions are only handled by intel operatives." Fuse explained. "Used primarily for interrogations, but it has other uses. Like identifying targets or threats."
Rebecca gaped at Fuse while Clint's expression hardened. "You figured all that out based on how she said a word?"
"Is he right?" Rebecca asked.
"He is."
"Kurokawa, what did you specialize in?" She asked, looking back to Fuse.
"Didn't have one." He answered bluntly as their food arrived.
Sliding the first plate to Lin, he took the second one. Clint watched as Rebecca cut her burger in two, then saw Fuse do the same thing.
"Why you you guys do that?" He asked.
They looked over at him. "Do what?" She asked.
"Cut your burgers in half."
"It's just something I've always done. I think I saw mom do it once when I was little." She said.
Fuse had a look of consternation on his face. "Guess I must've copied it from her."
Lin picked up a knife and cut her burger in half as well, earning a smile from Rebecca. "It's spreading."
"She's only doing it because he did." Clint said bitterly.
"Are you six?" She snapped.
They continued to bicker while Fuse and Lin ate silently. The arguing continued as they exited the restaurant, but they were six topics deep and entirely unrelated to the two teens. Lin watched as their hands entwined with one another and stared down at Fuse's, which was in his pocket as they walked.
"What is it?" He asked quietly.
She pointed and looked up at him. "Is that romantically?"
He smirked. "I'm sure to them, it is."
"I really don't understand this." She sighed.
"People respond differently to different things."
She nodded, but still didn't understand when Rebecca gestured back to them. "Look at those two! Maybe if you were more like Kurokawa, I wouldn't have to point out how childish you're being."
"Now that's an unfair comparison and you know it. He's a super soldier and she's a super genius! How'm I supposed to feel normal when the two most badass people on the planet cut their burgers?" He shouted, letting go of her hand to flail his hands and paused.
Rebecca stopped as well and looked at her hand. "When did..."
"Not sure."
"Three blocks back." Fuse said dully. "Around 'what kind of adult eats chicken strips'."
"I don't think that helped." Lin said quietly as they both glared at him.
He grinned. "Wasn't meant to."
Clint recovered first and pointed at Fuse. "I'm not going to take that from a guy on his first date!"
Rebecca grinned maliciously. "That's riiiiight. It is his first time out to dinner with a girl."
"I've eaten meals with women before." Fuse countered.
"Rec hall doesn't count, Fuse." Clint said sharply.
"We're on a date?" Lin asked.
"Yep." "Yes." Clint and Rebecca said at the same time.
"Double date. Me and Clint, you and Kurokawa." Rebecca said.
Lin felt her ears burn and looked up at Fuse, who seemed unsettled.
"Nothing to say?" Clint asked. "No deep insights into that one?"
"Go easy, Roberts. He's just a kid, after all."
"Stop being mean." Lin spat.
The two agents stared at her and started laughing. "We're just giving him shit, Lin."
"He griefed us first." Clint added.
"It's not a date because Fuse doesn't like me romantically. He's my friend. And I don't want to fight with my friend like you two do." She said firmly.
"Oh." Clint murmured, taken aback.
"You were really sheltered, weren't you?" Rebecca said. "Romance isn't fighting, Lin. It's..." She stammered and looked over at Clint. "You got us into this one. You explain it."
He shook his head. "I don't know how to explain it!" He whispered frantically, then looked over at them. "It's um... like... Bex and I are friends, right? But we want to be more than that. So we're dating to get to know one another better, outside of the office. We want to see if we're compatible with one another."
"Then why are you fighting?"
"We're not really fighting, Lin." Rebecca said. "I know it looks like that, but there's no anger or malice in it."
"It's just us having fun sniping at one another." Clint added. "Giving each other a hard time, y'know?"
"So dating is when you want to know each other better so you can decide if you like someone romantically?"
Clint clapped his hands and pointed at her. "Yes, exactly! And if you do, then you've got to decide if they're someone you can see spending your life with."
"That's more than friends, right?" She asked.
"Er... Look, I'm not really qualified to teach you about this stuff, Lin. And not in the middle of the street when you're being chased by the military. Tell you what, I'll hook you up with some books and stuff. Those should help you understand things." He said.
"Okay."
"Kurokawa?" Rebecca asked. "You alright?"
He nodded stiffly. "Just fine."
"You don't look fine." She said.
"Just ready to get back."
Clint narrowed his eyes. "Car's just around the corner."
"Yeah, good." He muttered, grabbing Lin's hand. "Let's go."
She had to half jog to keep up with him as he pulled her along. There was an urgency to his movement that pushed all other thoughts from her mind as he pushed her into the vehicle. Clint and Rebecca climbed in and the autodrive instantly started.
"I know that was a bit more than teasing, but it wasn't worth getting that worked up over, Kurokawa." Rebecca said.
"Wasn't that." Clint said sharply. "Fuse?"
"I saw Vanguard armor."